Egypt Independent

Report: Egypt averaged two protests an hour in May

With 5,544, Egypt witnessed the most protests in the world during the period from 1 January to 31 May, according to a report released Sunday by an Egypt-based research center.

According to the democracy index published by the International Development Center (IDC), the month of May saw 1,300 protests, an average of two protests an hour, 42 a day, and 325 a week.

The report said that 39 different Egyptian social groups staged in May 390 demonstrations, related to work conditions and workers’ rights.

Economic and social demands, spurred by violations of workers’ rights and deteriorating services, triggered 63.7 percent of the protests, according to the report.

Common citizens, the report outlines, were the second most disruptive segment of society, accounting for 28.4 percent of all demonstrations in May. With 210 protests, activists and politicians staged 16.2 percent of all protests.

Pilots were the latest group to join the wave of protests last month.

Cairo, accounting for 18 percent of all protests, was the most rebellious governorate, followed by Alexandria, Sharqiya, and Gharbiya. The rates in other provinces in the Delta, Upper Egypt, and the border regions were similar.

The wave of protests, as the report explains, reflect in the Egyptian street indignation at the ruling regime and a return to the habit of pressuring state institutions and major corporations in order to retrieve lost rights.

Protests in May were more violent than in the preceding months, according to the report. It stated that demonstrators managed to shut down institutions in 56 separate incidents, stormed facilities in 23, and besieged other buildings in 14. The number of protests featuring marches dropped to 57 in May, down from 120 in April, the report indicated.